Long-hitting Wie keeps a straight face

Michelle Wie rewrote the course guide here yesterday but still some folk were not satisfied. "Have you forgotten how to smile," the 14-year-old prodigy was asked after her 71 at the Evian Masters, which is a pretty harsh question even to put to one of the snarling grown-ups.

However, there were no complaints about her demeanour from the gallery who saw her drive the 16th. Sophie Gustafson, the 2000 British Open champion, can smack a tee-shot as far as anyone, but in the tournament literature she advises "long iron out, wedge in" as the best way to tackle the tricky 284-yard dog-leg.

Not any more, for Wie's belter soared above the trees and came to rest just over the green. There is no need to cover 18 holes with a fixed grin when you have the wow factor, and that is something Wie has in spades.

Laura Davies has it too, and she was keen to point out that she can also drive the 16th, when she has a mind to. "I do it every year in the pro-am," she said after an extraordinary round in which she started two shots clear of the field, just about blew it and then rescued the cause with an eagle at the last for a 71.

Hers was a breathless finish but the day ended with Karen Stupples in pole position after a 66 that took her to 10 under par, with Annika Sorenstam and Davies a shot behind. There was a time, though, when Davies thought she had lost the plot completely.

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"I was four over after five holes and I considered walking off to the beer tent," she said. "I could smell it from the sixth tee and I wondered what I was doing out there. Fortunately I played the par-fives pretty well and that's what turned things around."

She made one great save – which was more than she managed in goal for the players' football match on Wednesday night – parring the sixth from seven feet. "If I had missed that, the wheels might have come off," she said cheerily.

Stupples, from Kent, compiled four birdies in a row from the seventh and produced some mighty putting, which twice saw her home from 30ft. "I struggled last year with the mountain course – the greens were optical illusions and it was hard playing shots with the ball always above or below my feet," she said. "I am surprised to be leading. But can I win? Yes, why not?"

Wie's 71 left her at two under overall, so off the pace, but not out of contention with two rounds to go. She has more than lived up to her pre-tournament billing as something very special but already she is expected to drive further and smile more than her contemporaries.